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Large-scale confrontations, disruption of meetings, sabotage and street fighting have been part of the practice of anti-fascism from the early twentieth century until the twenty-first. Rarely endorsed by any political party, the use of collective bodily strength remains a strategy of activists working in alliances and coalitions against fascism. In Physical Resistance famous battles against fascists, from the Olympia arena, Earls Court in 1934 and Cable Street in 1936 to Southall in 1978 and Bradford 2010, are told through the voices of participants. Anarchists, communists and socialists who belonged to a shifting series of anti-fascist organizations relate well-known events alongside many forgotten but significant episodes.

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Product description

Review

Combining scholarship with the knowledge that can only come from political experience this is a moving memorial to the late author and those who have fought fascism in Britain for almost a hundred years. Detailed accounts, eye witness testimony and a non-sectarian approach make this an engaging and fascinating account that should be read by activists and historians of all kinds. --Dr Hilda Kean

About the Author

Dave Hann was an anti-fascist activist and self-taught historian. He worked as a plasterer and builder for most of his life. He died in 2009, aged 48.

Top customer reviews

The following review appears on the Anti-Fascist Archive [...] and are the thoughts of the archivist regarding Physical Resistance and a reply to Dave Renton's review [...]. The Archivist asked me to repost here on Amazon.

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Unfortunately I am thousands of miles from my copies of Beating the Fascists, No Retreat and Anti-Fascism in Britain which I think would be extremely useful in a full and detailed review of Physical Resistance. I am having to make do with my computerised notes of Beating the Fascists, sadly I chose only to word process my notes after reading No Retreat and Anti-Fascism in Britain. Following reading Dave Renton's review of Physical Resistance I decided to write down a few of my thoughts of the book and his review. My focus will be on the latter chapters as this is the period where I have mostly researched. I welcome any response and correction.

Physical Resistance: A Hundred Years of Anti-Fascism has given those interested in the study of in militant anti-fascism a wealth of important and interesting events which have laid undiscovered, exciting long oral accounts of former activists and a number of questions to attempt to answer. These long oral and written accounts are woven with Hann's narrative. Sadly Dave Hann died before he could finish his work but his long term partner, who also writes the introduction, has stepped in and finished the book well with the circumstance. However, as Renton points out there are points in the book which are under-analysed and leave the reader asking for more detail.

Firstly, Renton's review; I believe it contained a number of factual errors. One such error is the statement of Hann being in the Red Action leadership, my research and interview with former Red Action members (and subsequent communication) did not give Hann as a national figure in Red Action but he was key to Anti-Fascist Action and Red Action organising in Manchester. Renton, disingenuously, says that Beating the Fascists finishes when it reaches the Battle of Waterloo in 1992. In fact, BtF continues for a further 100 pages which includes, amongst other events: the 1993 Welling demonstration, the conflict with Combat 18, the BNP declaration of "no more meetings, no more marches, no more punch ups", `Operation Zero Tolerance' and the development of the Independent Working Class Association. Furthermore, Renton comments that AFA decayed following the Battle of Waterloo, however, issue 3 of Fighting Talk (June 1992), the Journal of AFA, lists 22 branches by issue 12 (November 1995) the number of branches peaked at 38 until it began to fall.

Renton also says that Hann is a "little self-serving" due to almost all interviews being with militant anti-fascists. Perhaps the subtitle "A Hundred of Militant Anti-Fascism" would have been more apt, but, I think Renton does Hann a disservice. As Renton points out Hann gives kudos to the ANL and other non-militant successes and, even, gives the UAF laurels for the BNPs 2010 local election defeat. I think Renton's short dismissal of BtF and AFA in this review opens him up to the charge of self-servicing his anti-squaddism.

Turning to the book itself, as I earlier commented I thought the book is under-analytical in places. One such area is the collapse of the National Front following the 1979 general election. A conclusion to whether Hann thought the ANL or Thatcher's hard talk against immigration was the primary or most important cause for the NF's demise is not offered. Another section where I was hoping for more evidence, detail and conclusion was the 1988 Red Action split; Renton also says most early Red Action members left. Further information and explanation would have been interesting; perhaps Red Action's archives will shed some light onto this period. Similarly, the AFA split between Red Action and the anarchist elements is light on details and analysis.

One question I asked during my undergraduate dissertation research was on the divisions between AFA members, particularly women. One of Hann's interviewees provides a glimpse of a division; that between "hit men" and "foot soldiers". During my research I was convinced that a division between organisers and fighters didn't exist, the organisers were also got their hands dirty. The division between the "hit men" and "foot soldiers" also, allegedly, manifested socially as well as tactically. Who were the "hit men"? Red Action members or simply the best fighters.

Regarding women, two of Hann's female interviewees' tales tell of a gender role divide of duties in AFA which seems to correlate to my results. That's not to say the duties of `spotting' or checking out a pub for fascists was looked upon as less brave in fact my results showed my interviewees thought these acts required much more courage than the fighting. Although, more investigation into this by Hann would have proved interesting I think, particularly when AFA and militant anti-fascism is often charged with chauvinism and machismo.

An interviewee also speaks about AFA's support for the IRA. Although Red Action's strong support for the IRA is openly known and AFA stewarded republican marches against loyalist and fascist attacks, AFA was supposed to be a single issue campaign. For this interviewee the extent of the IRA support was uncomfortable. To what extent AFA as an organisation supported the IRA is not dealt with in depth and it does raise an interesting point as to what people's experiences of IRA support were within AFA.

Hann also gives an insight into the continuation of militant anti-fascism post-AFA. He accounts both No Platform and Antifa, and, I think, it gives the impression that Hann supported the continuation of a violent street strategy and a rejection of the IWCA's approach of following the BNP off the streets and into the electoral arena. But his position doesn't seem clear. Any comparison between the post-AFA movements and AFA is also lacking.

To more general points: I'm surprised no Red Action literature appears in the bibliography, I think it's a shame footnotes weren't used in the book, as they are so useful to students of anti-fascism, also, there are few details on AFA in Scotland which is a shame. Lastly, there are a few errors in the writing such as Tyne and Wear Anti-Fascist Association is listed as Tyne and Wear Anti-Fascist Action and the Kindle version is littered with hyphenated words in the middle of the page which I found annoying.

To conclude, the book is a valuable read for all those interested in the Communist Party's role in anti-fascism, the British volunteers in the Spanish Civil War, opposition to the British Union of Fascists and the later history of militant anti-fascism.

A history of physical resistance to fascism, from those who fought the Blackshirts to Antifa, covering a lot of groups about which not much has been written such as the 62 Group and some of the more recent groups

This is an excellent book , covering the entire history , from the 1920's till today, of (UK) anti fascist physical resistance activity, via a host of exciting, amusing, and inspiring "oral history style" recollections from anti fascist activists from a wide range of (Left spectrum) political parties and viewpoints. This is very much a book (or Kindle) for the committed anti fascist/anti racist - any fascists reading it may well suffer severe carpet-chewing psychosis, and in its acceptance of the necessity for direct action violence as part of the "action mix" to oppose the growth of fascism, it may well cause palpitations with liberals and NuLabourites too ! An excellent, evocative, informative, and inspiring book. Buy it !